Before you read today's devotion, I would like each reader to know, that I was so serious about this devotion (which is more of a challenge to our people), that I had to call Bro Eric, to make sure that I not mis-lead, mis-interpret or mis-diagnose what might be happening at our church...I do not take this lightly at all and have no doubt that God's leading is on us...I dare not speak of my own free will at all...The immediate effect is that the we begin to have an awareness of spiritual things such as we have never had before. In a revival, we become aware and begin to recognize, in reverence, in holy fear, the consciousness of God in His majesty, His glory, His holiness, His utter purity. Hasn't that happened during this Easter play?
A revival is not the Church deciding to do something and doing it. It is something that is done to the Church, something that happens to the Church. It leads men and women to feel that they are vile and unclean and utterly unworthy and, above all, it leads them to realize their utter helplessness face to face with such a God. One may be held in that state for some time--not only for hours but sometimes for days and weeks, and months. They may become almost desperate for God. How many of us are experiencing this?
This now becomes the one thing that absorbs us. If we meet anyone, we may talk about it at once; everybody is talking about it, it is the main topic of conversation, it is the thing that absorbs everyone's interest to praise God and to sing hymns to His glory. Then we begin to pray, and here we are, hour after hour, night after night, longing to finish work so we might get together with other people who have experienced this movement of the Spirit of God. And that, of course, in turn leads us to have a great concern about others who are outside and who do not know these things.
And then, after a while, hearing of all this and seeing the change in those whom we have known for so long, the others who are outside begin to join the meetings and to say, 'What is this?' So they come in, and they go through the same experience. And so it happens and thousands upon thousands are converted. Indeed, the whole neighborhood seems to be full of the Holy Spirit. He seems to be everywhere! We have this cause, folks...it is happening...are we going to miss this opportunity?
The Spirit of God is acting. He is dominating the whole area. He is filling the lives of all the people.
A revival is a miracle. A revival, by definition, is the mighty act of God and it is a sovereign act of God. Man can do nothing. God, and God alone, does it.
So then, what is going to happen? The best way of answering that question is to say that it is in a sense a repetition of the day of Pentecost. It is something that will happen to the Church, that inevitably and almost instinctively will make one look back and think again of what happened on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. Please, I pray, each and every one of you read Acts 2.
The essence of a revival is that the Holy Spirit comes down upon a number of people together, upon a whole church, upon a number of churches, districts, or perhaps a whole country. That is what is meant by revival. It is, if you like, a visitation of the Holy Spirit, or another term that has often been used is this--an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
What the people will be conscious of... is that it is as if something has suddenly come down upon them. The Spirit of God has descended into their midst, God has come down and is amongst them. We immediately become aware of His presence and of His power in a manner that we have never known before.
I am talking about Christian people, about church members gathered together as we have done so many times before. Suddenly we are aware of His presence, we are aware of the majesty and the awe of God. The Holy Spirit literally seems to be presiding over every meeting and taking charge of it, and manifesting His power and guiding, and leading, and directing. That is the essence of revival.
This is what God can do! This is what God has done in the past. Let us together decide to beseech Him, to plead with Him to do this in our church! Not that we may have the experience or the excitement, but that His mighty hand may be known and His great name may be glorified and magnified among the people of Cornerstone and all the unsaved people in our county! Are we willing, are we ready for a Day of Pentecost at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church?
Bro Dave Gindlesperger
CMBC Facebook Moderator
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